


Dawn

by HotaruGFC (JaclynGFC)



Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Elf departure, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:41:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22761871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaclynGFC/pseuds/HotaruGFC
Summary: As dawn breaks on the Clover Kingdom and the elves say goodbye, Yami and Charlotte deal with an accidental embrace.
Relationships: Charlotte Roselei/Yami Sukehiro
Comments: 5
Kudos: 120





	Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> Seeing the little arm wrap that anime added when Charlotte collapsed against Yami, how could I not write something...

Watching as Asta pulled out his sword--was that one new?-- and released the spell holding the elven spirit to the body of William Vangence, Yami scowled. He could not control himself, or the twinge of anger he felt. How was it fair for the man who killed Julius to be released so easily? How was it fair for him to not pay for his actions, for the madness he instigated? 

Despite his anger, Yami knew the action was the right one to take. But he didn't have to like it simply because it was "right". The elves who hadn't woken up to their manipulation, the one who had kept fighting outside of the Shadow Palace, were still creating havoc and destruction, leaving much of the capital in shambles. William's magic was needed to stop them. And so, Yami kept his mouth shut, even as his body reacted.

The elf woman with whom he had fought against, Charla, noticed the shift in his posture and the brief flicker of anger on his face. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.  
Her head turned enough for him to notice it. 

She had been a good partner in the fight, strong and capable, much like the woman she had possessed. But she was different, more confident and self-assured. At least she seemed that way around him. 

The traitor had cast his spell and the elven leader drew the spirits from the bodies they had in inhabited in streaks of brilliant white light. 

"It was fun fighting with you, Yami Sukehiro." The woman who was Charlotte but not smiled at him. Something in her eyes seemed mischievous or playful in a way he could never imagine Charlotte looking at him. The look continued as her spirit ascended. She said something about not being awkward before she disappeared into the heavens and from there, who knew where. The look on her face was so odd to him for someone who looked so like Charlotte, he nearly missed the motion of the unconscious woman before him. 

Yay for ki! He silently cheered as he stepped forward. Charlotte landed solidly against his chest. The weight felt strange, but not unpleasant. He wrapped his arm around her to keep her from slipping once she landed against him. The weight of her against him felt heavy. Far heavier than he might have imagined... if he had imagined such things before. 

She sighed and turned her head, melting into him in her exhaustion. Again, strange, since she hated him as much as she did, right? 

But it was not at all unpleasant. The sigh sounded... content? Relaxed? 

Whatever it was, he could not put his finger on it, but then his own exhaustion made the arm supporting her feel heavy. 

She sighed again and rubbed her cheek against his chest, and his arm tightened around her. The devil's words came back to him. He had thought it strange at the time himself, how well he and Charla worked together. They moved in concert as if they had fought together, trained together for just such an occasion. 

And yet, he had never even met the elf woman before.

Even in their fight before they entered the Shadow Palace, she had seemed to match him move for move. 

How could Charla have been able to move so fluidly with him when they had barely known each other?

Charlotte's arms wrapped around his waist. Yami's eyes grew wide at the extra pressure. His arm tightened on her once more. He took his cigarette from between his lips with his other hand and exhaled. He placed the burning stick down by his side and flicked the collecting ash from its end. She would probably kill him if it burned her.

"Charlotte." He whispered, trying to avoid the attention of anyone. Fortunately, everyone's attention was elsewhere. She stirred against him once more, pressing her body more fully against his and mumbled something incoherent. Her grip on him tightened. 

He held her a moment longer, wallowing in his indecision. Anyone who might look at them would get the completely wrong idea. They worked together, but besides that, they could hardly stand each other. Right?

And yet, having her arms around him, her body pressed against his as she leaned into him, his arm around her... it not only did not feel unpleasant. It felt sort of... nice. Relaxing in a sense.

Yami yawned, part of him wanting to join her in sleep. Or maybe it felt nice because he was so damn tired...

"Charlotte." He stuck the cigarette back between his lips and placed his hands on her upper arms. He didn't expect for her arms to be so thin in his grip. He pushed her back from him. 

This time her eyes fluttered open. She had a small smile on her face as she made a questioning sound. At the moment, she was unguarded, open, and she looked as free as the elf woman had as her spirit ascended. She looked... beautiful. Ethereal. 

At least she did until she recognized him. Then she sputtered and pulled away from him as if she had stuck her hands in hot coals. Her face looked like hot coals too.

"Yami!" She stuttered. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." She looked down at the ground next to her and crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's alright. We're all tired. Don't worry about it." 

"Still... You don't think anyone saw, do you?"

"I dunno. They've been pretty preoccupied."

Yami heard his name and he turned to the sound. His eyes narrowed when he saw who it was and his anger took over once more. Charlotte stood there forgotten, at least for the moment as William asked him to aid in his apology to Julius. 

But even as he walked away, the faint smell of roses lingered. As did the questions which had been weighing on his mind since the entire fiasco began.

***

It was a dream. It had to be. A wonderful, happy dream, but a dream nonetheless. It was warm and sweet, but also one filled with musky desire she had long denied. A voice not her own spoke with her mouth and then spoke as she had fallen forward. As she lost consciousness, exhausted, she fell into something firm and warm, something smelling of sweat and cigarettes. The warmth wrapped around her embraced her in strength and held her tightly. She hadn't been able to help herself as she succumbed to the warmth and tried to press herself more fully into it. She wanted to be enshrouded in the warmth, to be lost in it.

"Charlotte." The voice was smokey, rich and deep, wrapping her further in the warmth. It reminded her of the hot cups of tea with a shot of bourbon in it her grandmother had given her when she was sick as a child. the sound was soothing and only made her want to stay in the warmth.

The feeling was a far cry from the cold darkness she had felt as her soul was suppressed. 

"Charlotte" the voice called out again, more insistent this time. It was accompanied by shifts in the warmth which exposed her to the cold once more. She didn't want to leave the warm little cocoon in which she had been wrapped, but it forced her out. She blinked in the light of the dawn--bright and blinding after the darkness in which her soul had slept, even as she tried to grasp onto the dream of the warmth evaporating in the daylight.

She sighed sadly as she awoke, but her sadness turned to embarrassment as her eyes focused on the source of the warmth which had comforted her so--a broad chest, strong arms... She knew immediately who it was. She should have realized sooner with the smell of cigarettes which clung to him. 

She met his eyes and gasped as if her mind still fought the reality of the moment. She sputtered his name and forced herself away--fully awake and aware after being trapped in the darkness and looking out her own eyes as if she were watching a stranger.

The spirit who had controlled her had fought by his side. She had watched, but she had not been privy to her thoughts on the matter. Charlotte thought they had fought well together despite a rocky introduction, and she was grateful to the other for not being overly familiar with him. Of course, Charlotte realized, she had not had a reason to be. But she could remember the feeling of them cramped together inside a space he had created to protect them both. She remembered seeing him injured as he pushed her out of the way of an attack, and how he had told her to not injure the body she possessed. 

And now, he had held her as she slept. 

Could he feel something too? She wondered as she tried to apologize. He seemed unconcerned and exhausted, but then he never let little things like appearances bother him anyway. William called out to him, drawing his attention to whatever was happening, and he seemed to forget about her immediately. 

No, she told herself after seeing how quickly his attention turned to something more pressing. There was no way he felt the same way for her.

She sighed and a small smile danced on her lips at the memory of his touch. She found a large chunk of rubble--likely the remains of a wall--to sit on.

"Still was a nice dream." She said to herself as she watched him walk off with William to who knows where.


End file.
